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Patrick Dempsey challenged to charity race by Jessica Dana

The former star of the series Fast Times and the film Life in the Fast Lane, Patrick Dempsey has been challenged to a race in a matching set of 600 hp Hamke Super Late Model Chevy Impala SS racers by Washington’s teenage racing sensation Jessica Dana as a charity fundraiser.

Should Dempsey pick up the gauntlet, the race would be featured at Evergreen Speedway Friday night on the .625-mile track during the Summer Showdown, the most popular race in the region, June 28-29. The event would span 15 laps at speeds up to 145 mph with the looser donating money or equivalent value to the winner’s choice of charitable organizations.

Should Dana win, Dempsey would make an agreed up donation to Seattle Childrens Hospital, Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County and maybe a Tully’s sponsorship in 2014.

Perhaps fastest young woman in Washington, Dana became nationally known after defeating both four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and extreme motorsports star Travis Pastrana in charity karting events during 2010.

Completing her second season of racing in Washington in the NASCAR Super Late Model Series, Jessica is hopeful other companies will join the challenge if Dempsey agrees, raising even more in the fundraiser

“I think that JDR does an amazing job of marketing and we are so proud of Jessica and the Dana Team for their on track presence and off track drive that not only promotes Jessica, it also brings great interest to our sport,” stated Doug Hobbs, President/CEO of Evergreen Speedway.

“Jessica will be a force at Evergreen Speedway this season in her hunt for the Washington State NASCAR Rookie of the Year while driving against some of the best Super Late Model drivers in the Western States,” he added. “We expect to see Jessica’s #12 make a few podium finishes in the very near future. We certainly Hope Patrick Dempsey accepts Jessica’s Challenge! Evergreen Speedway worked with over 30 Charities and Non Profit fundraising events last season, and I think this Challenge could possibly top them all! We are very proud the JDR Team will be competing at Evergreen Speedway in 2013.”

A quick bio search revealed Dempsey has to memorize all his lines for the stage as he suffers from dyslexia. Does that make it harder to read gauges at 145 mph?

“I had so much fun at the track and with the people at Evergreen,” Jessica said after the 2012 Summer Showdown June 28 & 29. “I truly hope Tully’s and Mr. Dempsey see value in my challenge, I would like to play a role in building the Tully’s brand and promoting my sport while raising money to help children in Washington.”

“We will have two nearly identical cars with pink roofs ready if Mr. Dempsey agrees to the race, added Troy Dana, Jessica’s father. “Tully’s is an iconic Northwest brand with limitless upside potential, Jessica could have similar qualities,”

“Jessica Dana and her race team are showing moxie to challenge the American actor, Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy), best known for his role in Grey's Anatomy, interjected Lee Wojnar, VP of Marketing from O Bee Credit Union.

“If the Dempsey Racing team accepts they would be raising needed funds for the Seattle Children’s Hospital and Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County while bringing Hollywood Fame back to the South Sound. O Bee Credit Union (the Olympia Brewery Credit Union) is a proud sponsor of the Jessica Dana Race Team and all those who pursue their dreams to do great things."

To follow the young speedster’s progress visit the web page or follow @JessDanaRacing on Twitter and Jessica Dana Racing on Facebook.